Life is Strange: The Other Perspective Episode 2: The Hawk's Nest
by Sketchman911
Summary: James Makintosh's Week gets stranger, as paths cross and tragedy strikes. The Other perspective becomes both blurred and cleared. Life is Strange owned by Square Enix/DONTNOD This story is owned by me Credit to WickDaLine for the inspiration
1. Chapter 1: Smudged Mirrors

**531 Westwood Drive, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 8th, 2013 5:34 AM**

James awoke abruptly. he was laying on the floor by his computer desk, the entire room was as dark as the morning sky " _Must have passed out again_ " James thought to himself while lying on the floor. He looked at the watch on his wrist, "5:30... shit, I forgot my USB drive at Blackwell" He said out loud. He stood up and took off his pajamas, He then threw on his dark blue jeans, a dark grey t-shirt with an orange hawk on it, his worn brown Boating Shoes and his dark blue Blackwell Academy Hoodie. He took his laptop and threw it into his backpack,

James practically flew down the stairs of his home and ran out of the door, He ran down to his garage and lifted the door up. He grabbed his Navy blue Bike from the floor and walked it out of the garage and pulled the large door down. James sat on the bike and began to peddle down the driveway.

* * *

 **Blackwell Academy. Prescott Dormitory-Boys Wing, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 8th, 2013 6:35**

James silently walked up the stairs to the second floor of the dormitory and walked down the hall. He opened the door of his room and walked through it. Walking up to his computer desk, it was strikingly empty, normally his laptop would be on there but that was now in his backpack. On the desk was a small USB flash drive, James grabbed that and placed it into his jacket pocket. James looked back at the bed on the far side of the room to find a sleeping body in one of them, before the covered mass could be awoken James quietly walked out of the dorm room.

He headed down the hall to the shower room, the room was well light with large mirrors on the right wall face, along the same walls were sinks. James walked up to one of the sinks and turned the faucet on, he ran his hands through the lukewarm water and splashed it onto his face and looked up.

Tired, sunken, dark green eyes stared back at him, his dark brown hair was combed yet unkempt at the same time as it fell back past his neck and hid his ears, the front bangs being parted to the right to keep out of his face, a youthful face had emotionless yet stern expressions stretched across its features.

His gaze turned from his features to a small message scrawled into the mirror. A video link, James instantly knew what it was. If it made him feel anything he hid it very well, even to himself. He smeared the message as much as he could. The door opened behind him and he heard footsteps

"What are you doing here Sherlock? thought you said you weren't coming back" of course, it was his roommate Alex Hillsef standing in his Pajamas,

"Forgot something for a client of mine, and I said I was spending the night at my home, I never said I wasn't coming back to campus when I left yesterday." James said flatly

"Clients? oh fuck me Sherlock, you mean one of the idiots that go to you so they can't find their missing dog or whatever?!" Alex's shoulders slumped, James nodded

"Alright then, indulge me for a second. Who needed. whatever the fuck you grabbed from the dorm?" Alex dropped his head into his right palm and shaking it tiredly.

James walked off away from the sink and up to Hillsef "Wouldn't you like to know..." James almost glared

"Whatever man, I'm going back to bed, the next time you decide to pop into Baker Street while I'm asleep, please let me know" Alex chuckled to himself "go hang out with your 'clients' or whatever you do" with that Alex walked out of the bathroom and back down the hall

James walked out of the bathroom and out of the dormitories " _I have just enough time to grab coffee at the Whales, probably do me some good, wake up a little_ " James thought while he tried rubbing sleep from his eyes and grabbing his bike from the rack out by the parking lot and before he began peddling away from the Campus.


	2. Chapter 2: Two-Whales Diner

**Two Whales Dinner, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 8th, 2013 7:00 AM**

James placed the bike along the side of the building and walked through the doors. The dinner was of medium size and was decently packed. He saw an A.B.P.D officer, a trucker, and some students from the school.

He sat along the bar of the restaurant and placed his head into his hands

"Can I help you?" a woman with a thick almost fake sounding southern accent said standing before him. James looked up to see the waitress, she looked to be of around 40 or so years of age. with faded blonde hair

"I'll uh, just have a coffee, sugar, and cream" The waitress jotted it down on a small notepad she walked off into the back of the building and James was left to his own devices again. He heard the front door open and close again but didn't to see who it was, he was more interested in waiting for his coffee.

Eventually, a cup was poured and placed in front of James, he thanked her as she walked off towards the back of the dining area. He could hear Joyce (The Waitress who served him earlier) initiating conversation from behind him so he did his best to discretely look behind him. Joyce was standing over the girl from Jefferson's class, Max Caulfield if he could remember correctly. James had helped the Caulfields a couple of times find a missing dog or something along those lines. She had also moved away for Seattle 5 years back but had come back to attend Blackwell.

Deciding to ignore their conversation, for now, James finally turned his attention to the coffee that was still sitting on the countertop. The door behind him opened again. turning his head again he saw a girl around his age, with short hair that was dyed bright blue and kept under a black skull cap

" _Shit_ " James thought to himself, pulling up his hood " _I wasn't expecting her to show up. I'm handing her this flash drive here, dammit. I just wanted a goddamn coffee!_ " James said in his head as began drinking his coffee rather quickly as opposed to sipping it as he had been earlier.

He kept overhearing More conversations sprouted behind between Joyce, Max, and his contact. Minutes passed and James kept his head down, Shifting between Listing on the conversation behind him, and being lost in his own thoughts. Caulfield and his client had been talking about something pertaining to the contents of his contact's pockets Which oddly enough Caulfield guessed everything exactly correctly.

"Tell me what is gonna happen in the next minute," The girl said enthusiastically. There was a pause

"First that trucker is going to drop his cup' Max said quietly "Then that cop is going to get a call but his partner will ditch him, the two in the booth will fight but Joyce will break them up, the Jukebox will go nuts after a cockroach crawls into it, and then the guy with the hood will get up and leave" she concluded.

Her last comment caught James' attention. She had noticed him, but had not yet identified him. Either way, James felt it was time to leave, he had already paid for the coffee and had left a tip as he always did. He was about to rise from his seat when the sound of ceramic breaking caught his attention, the trucker at the other end of the bar had knocked over Just as she had predicted. Then the Police Officers radio went off, he responded and stood up. Then his partner in the Police Cruiser peeled off sirens blazing, leaving the man in the dinner behind.

James began to feel uncomfortable " _Who is this girl?_ " he thought to himself as he shifted. Then Justin and Trevor started arguing and slapping each other. Joyce quickly broke up the fight that ensued "Take your fight club outside!" she pointed to the door.

James could feel the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Finally, the Jukebox at his end of the dinner started going haywire. James' eyes went wide at the sight. He quickly stood up and headed for the door. James overheard his contact speak with so much excitement about heading to her 'secret place'. James quickly hopped on his bike and began peddling off as fast as he could, allowing the wind current to blow his hood off. One, he wanted to go off and wait for his contact at American rust, and two. He wanted to get as far away from _her_ as quickly as possible The whole time thoughts swirled in his head like a vortex.

" _How did that she call all of that?_ " James thought as he peddled. He remembered hearing something they said while he overheard their conversation about her being able to control time or something like that. James brushed the absurd idea off "T _here is no way she is able to control time. Thats Sci-Fi bullshit, she's bluffing. It has to be some kind of coincidence. I-It has to be..._ " but soon he arrived at the entrance of the Junkyard.

He stood up from his bike completely winded and walked it down towards a pile of abandoned cars ready to crushed and turned into new automobiles. He sat down on the ground waiting, trying to clear his head.


	3. Chapter 3: Intersected Paths

**American Rust Junkyard, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 8th, 2013, 9:05 AM.**

The phone buzzed in James pocket. causing him to jump, he went through his left pocket on his jacket to find the cellular device. He looked down at the touch screen to read its caller ID, the phone displayed the contact ' **K. Marsh** ' as the apparent caller, He answered the call upon placing the device close to his ear,

"Miss Marsh, what seems to be the issue?" James asked through the receiver.

A strained female voice spoke on the other end, whoever this was on the other end it sounded like they just got done crying, "James. you still believe me right?" the voice asked.

"Someone like you wouldn't do that, I know you too well. And with what you told me, I'm finding the situation highly suspect." James spoke with a pang of pity in his voice, He sympathized with her plight and wanted to do everything in his power to make the situation better

The voice gave a small laugh "you know, it seems like you and Max are the only people that really seem to care"

James felt sighed in his own version of a sad tone "I'm sorry I cannot make this situation easier for you, I truly am. I'm doing everything I can to prove your innocence, and trying my damnedest to stop that video from spreading any further. But there's only so much I can do..." James felt a sense of guilt for his helplessness in her situation, She had come to him asking for his assistance and he was powerless to stop a viral video from leaking all across the school.

"I'm about to meet another client of mine, I'll uh, talk to you soon, maybe you should talk to Jefferson before Photography class" James felt awful to have to cut his call short but he really had other matters he needed to attend to.

"Okay, I will. thanks for being here to talk" Marsh sounded saddened by James' last remark but also happy that the call happened to begin with.

"Sure, anytime Ma'am" James said. Soon the call went dead and James put his phone down. Just as he had put the phone down did it buzz again, he looked down at the device again.

 ** _[Price: Hey Gumshoe, still got the drive?]_**

 ** _[James: Yes I do, I'm already at the meeting point waiting]_**

 ** _[Price: Awesome! Bringing a friend, hope you don't mind kaythxbye]_**

James sighed " _This was supposed to be a private meeting but fine..._ " His inner monologue spoke.

He waited for a minute or two until the sounds of footsteps caught his attention. he stood up and dusted himself off, ran a hand through his hair, and tried to make himself look somewhat presentable, he made sure to keep a hand on the flash drive while also keeping his hands inside his coat pockets.

When the footsteps stopped he turned around from the pile of scrap he had been hiding behind, he was facing both of the people he had seen inside the dinner

"Sup Sherlock?" His contact Chloe Price said while she waved a hand gesturing him to walk over. He walked two feet closer, He was certainly taller than Max, who looked like a small child compared to James, Price was almost face to face with him but he was still the tallest person in the group.

"This is My own private dick, AKA James Makintosh, I'm sure you remember him." Price said to her friend, Max gave a weak wave and James nodded in response. "He's the one who has been digging around Arcadia to help find Rachel." She explained. "Speaking of which, If you so could Sherlock?" Price held out her hand, James quickly came back to sense and he handed Price the flash drive.

"Right then my business here is concluded" He turned around prepared to leave but was stopped by the sound of Price's voice

"Why not just hang around for a while, no need to try and disappear into the shadows, have some fun. Live a little "

 **{CHOICE}**

 **{STICK AROUND/LEAVE}**

"I have other business to attend to Ms. Price, we will speak again soon..." James clarified

"Of course Sherlock, disappear like you usually do, me and Max will just have fun without you" Chloe crossed her arms, James rolled his eyes and began walking away

"It was, nice to see you again James" Max said from behind him.

Without James looking back at the two girls he rose his hand up and a gesture of farewell, he then picked up his bike and began to peddle away from the Scrapyard

* * *

 ** _531 Westwood Drive, Arcadia Bay Oregon, January 21st, 2013, 12:30 PM_**

James sat alone in his bedroom looking something on his laptop, The phone buzzed on his nightstand, he picked it up to find an unknown number calling. He answered

"Hello?" initiating the conversation

"Hey, is this still the number of James Makintosh?" He instantly recognized the voice as belonging to someone he knew all too well. Chloe Price

"Miss Price, Arcadia Bay's resident 'rebel without a cause' what do you want?" He sarcastically said.

"Ha. Ha. Make your jokes smartass, I called cause I need your help, like right now"

Now she had caught James' attention "Really? with what?" James spoke

"Finding a missing person"

"Missing person you say?" James paused "Fine. Meet me at the Lighthouse north of the school." He hung up the phone and sat up from his bed, he was already dressed in his shoes, jeans, and shirt on. He grabbed his old green winter coat and a notepad with a fountain pen inside the pockets and made his way outside of his domicile.


	4. Chapter 4: Memories and Dreams

**_Arcadia Bay Lighthouse, Arcadia Bay Oregon,_ _January 21st, 2013, 12:45 PM_**

James sat on the park bench that lied in front of the lighthouse tower. he did his best to keep warm in the chilly winter air, down the path he could see a beat up old pickup truck park and its sole occupant climb out and begin walking up the trail. James stood up from the bench and walked to meet this person in the middle of the path. they finally stopped moving when they were inches apart from each other

"Okay Price, you caught my interest. care to tell me who has gone missing?" James crossed his arms

"Rachel Amber" Price said flatly before returning to complete silence.

"Rachel Amber huh? The queen-bee of Blackwell. Some heads are gonna roll for this" James rubbed his chin. finally, he nodded his head

"Okay, I'll see what I can do. firstly I hope you wouldn't mind me asking a few questions regarding the victim" He said pulling his pen and notepad from his coat pocket. Victim, he was already playing out the role of the police investigator

"Fine, just make it quick, it is hella freezing out here" Price sighed

"When was your last contact with Ms. Amber?" James inquired "it was a couple of months ago, she just. Left, I thought she was going to L.A, I only noticed something was wrong when she didn't come back to get me. I haven't seen her since" Price explained,

"Do you have any idea where she would have gone?" He asked

"L.A, New York, fucking Chicago I don't know! I just know that no one at Blackwell Campus has seen her, neither has my Step-prick" Price exclaimed

James raised a hand up to calm her down "Okay, for the sake of not standing out here in the freezing cold. I'll have you go, for now, I will be looking into this matter. until then I would recommend going to the police and filing a missing person's report... We will be speaking again soon." James said flatly

"Fine Sherlock. I just hope you know what you're doing" Price exhaled and walked back to her Truck. it was a full minute until James eventually saw her drive away out of sight.

"I always know what I'm doing..." He said to himself

James stood by the lighthouse tower gathering his thoughts, his breath visible in the cold. After a while, he began walking down the path and away from the lighthouse.

* * *

 **Blackwell Academy. Prescott Dormitory-Boys Wing, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 8th, 2013 10:34 AM**

James had biked all the way to the Blackwell campus. By the time he had placed it into the bike rack, he was physically out of breath. Visibly out of breath and tired as he all the way to the Boy's Dormitories.

He made his way to the second landing and down the hall. He opened the door to his dorm to find his Roommate Alex Hillsef sitting at his desk gaming away on his computer playing what-ever it was he was playing some kind of fantasy game from the looks of it. he turned around to face James "Well no shit! the good detective is here!" Alex exclaimed as he removed his headset. He stood up from his chair "Hey have you seen that video of that girl Kate Marsh at the party a couple of nights ago? who knew Catholics were such kissers!" Alex held his phone up to James's face, the URL was the same one he removed at the bathroom

"Alex Hillsef." James said in an icy tone "Watch that video again or share it with anyone and I will throw that phone of yours out of the goddamned window!"

Alex raised his hands up defensively and then put the phone in his pocket "Jesus. Who pissed in your cereal today Sherlock?" he asked,

"Alex. That Video has caused that poor girl enough suffering, haven't you noticed that shes become the laughing stock of Blackwell?" James explained "I'm doing everything I can to stop that video from spreading, you need to help me with that. Something tells me it's going to cause something terrible to happen."

"How so?" Hillsef asked

"I've seen how the situation is taking its toll on miss Mar-... Kate." James corrected himself, he was slipping into his usual habit of depersonalizing, a habit he made to at least appear professional. But he couldn't do that here, not in this situation "She's depressed. and even I don't have to be a physiotherapist to notice that" he finished.

"Okay James, you've convinced me, Christ. To be honest it is actually a little fucked up how I've seen people talk about her in school. It's shes a whore' this and 'ride dick' that. You're right, like you usually are Sherlock. You happy now?" Alex admitted.

He noticed James seemed troubled by something as he was acting quieter than usual and seemed a little pale. "Something wrong Sherlock? Not for nothing but you look like shit, more so than usual" Alex asked

"I'm gonna choose to ignore that last comment Alexander" James glared at his roommate

 **{CHOICE}**

 **{MAKE UP EXCUSE/ADMIT TRUTH}**

"I Have been up for several hours, You know more than anyone else how much I don't get rest. I would like to get in at least two minutes of sleep before classes." James sighed falling onto the bed on the opposite end of the small room.

"Alright, Sherlock fine. I'll let you sleep, but you're hanging here tonight, you owe me that much for ditching me yesterday" Alex chuckled James waved a hand at him and let conciseness slip away

James gasped as he suddenly awoke. he starred up at the sky, it was of a dull gray color. He then noticed he was completely soaked head to toe. It was raining, no. It was pouring, what had happened. James stood up and dusted himself off, he looked around, he realized he was just laying on the muddy ground and was completely surrounded by woods. He looked down at the ground below him. it appeared he was on a dirt path. He recognized this path. He walked up to the path, placing a hand above his eyes to shield them from the crescendo of raindrops that assaulted him.

As he continued his walk he could see the lighthouse just up ahead, his walk turned into a jog. As the trees and foliage began to clear away he could see something incredible and terrifying. An enormous black tornado that slowly crept its way to the coast of the town. James gasped at the sight of this horrific sight, the sounds of whispered voices echoed in his ears. He turned around to find two figures talking among themselves. it was too dark to see them clearly but with every flash of lightning James could make out a new detail. A grey hoodie, a Black Jacket, A pink shirt, etc James was fairly sure he recognized the figures but he wasn't quite sure. Then the voices stopped only the thundering rain, the crashing waves of the shore, and the howling wind prevented the scene from being completely silent, another flash of light and suddenly the figures were looking at him, but the most disturbing detail was their distinct lack of facial features.

Before James could register what was happening he awoke in a cold sweat on his bed inside his dormitory Gasping and sitting up from his bed

"Jesus Sherlock! you alright?" You look like you saw a ghost!" Alex looked over at James while sitting at his computer

It took him a couple of minutes to come up with a response "Bad dream I suppose. What time is it?" James asked

"A little after Eleven" Alex starred at the clock

"Okay I'll have a little more time before, ugh. Photography" James rubbed his temples and grabbed his backpack. "I'll see you after classes Hillsef" James gave his roommate a two-fingered salute before heading out of the door


	5. Chapter 5: Blackwell Hallways

**Blackwell Academy. Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 8th, 2013. 11:05 AM**

James wandered through the halls of the main campus building, maneuvering between the other students. Sometimes it was hard, other times rather easy, he mainly stuck to hugging the walls of the hallway to best avoid the conglomerate of people that flooded the hallways between classes.

He did a walk around the entire school building to kill time, he would have just slept in until Alex awoke him but after that nightmare, he didn't really want to sleep until the night came. It really had been a rather long morning.

James had only been awake for only 7 hours yet felt like had been for nearly a whole day. Maybe that was just due to his usual insomnia. He ignored the grogginess he began to feel and started making his way when he checked his watch and realized it was almost time to head to photography.

He began walking down the halls to make his way. When he reached the hall he noticed it was surprisingly empty, Jefferson stood by the door of the room he also seemed to be talking to someone. James hid behind the corner of the halls

"Stop acting so brittle!" He said authoritatively

"Being in a viral video does that.." The voice of the other person rang bells in James' head immediately. That was the voice of Kate Marsh, He had spoken to her only hours earlier.

"Maybe this is your way of getting attention" Jefferson spoke again,

James' heart sank, he had told her to go to Jefferson for guidance and this is what became of it. He couldn't help but feel highly responsible for furthering Kate's harassment, He silently scolded himself. His guilt and shame however quickly soon turned to his form of bitter anger " _who is this bastard think he is to be speaking to a student like this?!_ " His inner monologue started to rant and rave inside his head. He never really respected or even liked Mark Jefferson to begin with, he always felt that there was something rather off about him and he just seemed like one of those unlikable people, This bias only added fuel to James' fire.

"Knock off this martyr crap" Jefferson began again

"What do you want from me?" Marsh pleaded

"I want you to be honest" Jefferson put on a fake sympathetic tone. James felt his blood boil, he balled his hands up into fists until his knuckles turned white in color

"Nobody believes me anyway...so why can't you help me?" Kate's voice strained.

 **{CHOICE}**

 **{CONFRONT/WALK AWAY}**

James' couldn't take it anymore, he turned around and began to walk down the hall again. It was either walk away for punch the teacher, And James wasn't in the mood to be in trouble for assaulting a faculty member.

He took a deep breath and tried to clear his head quick steps came down from the hall. James looked up to see Marsh practically running down the hall with her head in her hands. She ran past him without even looking up, James watched her run down the hall, He was about to stop her but he hesitated and before he knew it she was out of his sight.

James' shame worsened and he shook his head cursing to himself under his breath. He walked down the hall back towards the photography class.

James looked down at the floor the whole time as he walked Only looking up when he was near the door. Jefferson was talking to _her_ , Max Caulfield again.

"I assume you know about this viral video?" Jefferson questioned

"Everybody knows. That's why I wanted to see you. Kate is being humiliated daily" Caulfield looked away, James was a little surprised they hadn't noticed him yet considering he was standing right in the middle of the hallway

"What if Kate brought this on herself? She means well but maybe she doth protests too much... She seems like she's holding back the truth" Jefferson Crossed his arms

" _Yeah. And methinks you're a prick_ " James' inner voice echoed in his mind

"I just don't want Kate to become the next Rachel Amber." Max said with clear concern

"Rachel Amber? What does she have to do with Kate?" Jefferson asked

"Its hard to _not_ think about her. Especially with all of the missing person posters littering the school grounds" James finally spoke up. Both of them looked shocked at James' presence

"Oh Mister Makintosh. Excuse us we were just-" Jefferson was cut off by the sound of his phone ringing "If you two could excuse me" He took the phone out of his suit jacket and held it up to his ear while walking away.

James and Max were left awkwardly staring at each other. James gestured to the door and Caulfield went in first while he walked behind her


	6. Chapter 6: Class Dismissed

**Photography Class. Blackwell Academy. Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 8th, 2013. 11:30**

James walked into the class, the first thing he noticed was the large windows that stood ahead of him, the desks. Or rather the small tables that filled most of the space in the room. The room was largely vacant of people other than himself and Caulfield but did the two sitting in the middle back table.

" _Well if it isn't the goddamn royalty of Blackwell_ " James thought to himself as he looked upon Victoria Chase and Nathan Prescott.

"Here comes the mysterious Max. Disguised as the pixie hipster" Nathan said in a not so subtle tone to Chase

"Like all the other precious twee artists here." Chase said in the most overly catty tone James' ear has ever heard.

" _At the very least neither of them are targeting me for a change,_ " James told himself mentally.

Seemingly almost on cue, Prescott looked over and locked eyes with James "Then there's this sad freak." He said to his companion "

" _Spoke too soon_ " James sighed "The 'detective' who can't mind his own damn business" Prescott said with a smug look, eluding to yesterdays confrontation in the parking lot

"Where were you yesterday Sherlock? huh. afraid Big Bad Nathan was gonna get ya?" Chase said joining in on the heckling

"Say whatever the hell you want about me, I don't really care. I distinctly remember I spooked the 'Big Bad Nathan' so badly in the parking lot he had to leave before having a golden opportunity to kick my ass" James said In response to Chase's question while locking eyes with Nathan. Prescott and Makintosh exchanged glares and looked away from each other.

"Right, can I sit at my table now?" Max finally spoke up.

Apparently obliging Caulfield's request both of the Blackwell Royalty stood up and began walking away

"Max thought we were going to be buds, Fucking ha ha" Chase did a fake laugh while walking away.

Finally, both Caulfield and James sat down at looked at each other, almost as if they could read each other's minds. "Assholes..." They said in unison.

James looked over his right shoulder and out of the large window, he sat closest to. Outside was Kate Marsh walking down the path walking at a slower pace than when in the hallway but with her head still in her hands, he looked over to the tree closest to the window to find Blackwell's Security Guard David Madsen peering behind the tree and appeared to be taking photos. " _What the fuck is Madsen doing?_ " James thought to himself.

He looked over to his left and suddenly Warren Graham was walking into the classroom, the young boy waltzed over to Caulfield's table and sat on the edge and exchanged pleasantries. "I saw Kate earlier and her eyes puffy from crying" Warren informed Caulfield

"Kate has a lot on her plate right now," Max said sympathetically

That video certainly doesn't help, make sure you keep it from spreading any further, you'd be helping her out massively" James Directed the two of them

"I don't know what to say, and she didn't tell me anything.." Warren said only to be seemingly to be cut off by the bell.

Jefferson walked into the class scanning the room much like James had done when he entered

"Okay, I know you all love me, but if you're not in this class, beat it. Everybody else sits down" He instructed, then Prescott (Who had never left the room) and Graham exited and more students came in through the door.

Once everyone had entered the room Jefferson spoke again

"We have a lot to cover today, and so little time, as usual. I see all the usual suspects here... Anybody Seen Kate Marsh?" he asked

"I'm sure everybody has seen Kate Marsh by now" Victoria called out, while one of her cronies Taylor snickered and laughed. James turned his head and glared at her, Chase smirked and discretely flipped him off.

He was about to answer Jefferson's question when someone else beat him to it

"Shes...not feeling well" Alyssa gave a better response to Jefferson's question.

Jefferson looked over at Taylor and Chase "Sounds like you're giggling about a video gone viral. Maybe it involves a student or a friend. I wonder how it would feel to have false images of yourselves shot out all over the world for people to judge..." He said authoritatively.

James was impressed by the remark, as far as he was concerned it may have been the first respectable thing he has ever heard Mark Jefferson say about practically anything.

James felt his phone buzz in his jacket pocket but restrained himself from checking, but judging by Jefferson telling Caulfield to put her phone away it seemed that she wasn't as strong-willed as he.

Then Mark went into his lesson, to James, it was more like an incoherent rambling about god knows what. So James began to shut his attention off, and almost began to doze off before someone burst through the door

"Yo! some crazy shit is going down at the girls' dorm! Check it!" He yelled from the doorway

"Zachary, do not come into my class like that ever again-" Jefferson began but was cut off by everyone getting out of their seats and walking out of the room, much to his protest

"Listen! Everybody remain seated-" he called out but was too late as James was the last one through the door, leaving him completely alone.

"Dismissed" Jefferson said defeated in his empty classroom


	7. Chapter 7: Guardian Angels

**Prescott Dormitory-yard, Blackwell Academy, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 8th, 2013. 11:56 AM**

By the time they had pilled out into the front yard of the Dormitories it was beginning to rain, the sky had become a dull gray that casted the rest of the world in a bleak light. there were mummers among the crowd of students and someone let out a loud shriek somewhere in the armada of onlookers.

"Jesus Christ!" James yelled out the moment he fixated his sight on the figure on the roof. He immediately begin shoving through the people, either being polite or cursing at them to move, He had to get up there he had to. He wasn't going to let Kate fall from that roof, even if it meant having to catch her on the way down.

This was his fault. He had let her situation get this bad, he told her to talk to Jefferson, he had let her run off crying and he would never forgive himself if she died because of his actions.

"Go get her James!" He thought he heard Alex shout over the crowd

between looking forward to see who was still in his way he would look up to see how close he was to the building, His heart sank, Marsh fell forward doing half of a swan dive from the roof to the ground, as a horrified scream erupted from the crowd.

* * *

James shoved his way through the crowd. The adrenaline alone being his only driving force, he looked up again only to find Marsh with her back to the crowd. Over the rain and the crowd talking with themselves, he couldn't tell what she was saying or who she was even talking to.

James wasn't a religious man but he had to thank something for the small mercy of having Kate seemingly hesitate allowing him some time to get up to the building through the crowd He finally managed to get to the front. He ran up to the stairs of the buildings and was almost into the door when he was stopped by David Madsen "Hang on son, you are not allowed to go up there"

all of James' frustrations came bubbling to the surface "Goddammit Madsen I am getting up to that roof! and you are not stopping me!" He Raised his voice in front of the Mustached Security guard

"Don't raise your voice to me, young man, I am trying to save a life" David pointed a finger at James,

"Every second I waste here bickering with you is a second lost stopping this!" James said clearly, he could feel the blood boiling within his veins

"If I let anyone though this door all it will do is cause a riot" Madsen Explained.

James ran a hand through his soaking wet hair "you can report me, expel me, hell. Arrest me if you want after this. But I. AM. GOING. UP. TO. THAT, ROOF." James Yelled again "

No one goes through this door, no ifs ands for buts about it soldier." Madsen held his conviction. James was just about ready to ready to push the security guard aside and run up to the roof himself. But just before he could get follow through with his plan someone from the crowd yelled "hey! I think she's walking away from the ledge!" David and James both walked away from the stairs and looked up to the roof one last time only to find Kate was no longer at the edge of the Roof.

 _"Thank GOD for small miracles!"_ James thought to himself. If he could have smiled in that moment, he would have.

It took one to two minutes for Kate Marsh to walk out of the entrance to the Prescott Dormitory Accompanied by _her._ Within one day James Makintosh has seen Max Caulfield at least four different times, How the hell she managed to not only get onto the roof but also convince someone out of taking their own life was beyond him.

James walked up to the two of them, removed his jacket, and draped it over Marsh's shoulders. It was the feeling of a million eyes staring at him that forced to look up to find the entire crowd of students now had their phones out, of course, they did. "You all should be ashamed of yourselves!" James shouted out at the crowd. They were every bit as complacent in Kate's suffering as he was. He shook his head and continued walking

"Miss Marsh, I'll be the one to say it. You have one hell of a Guardian Angel looking after you" James said making sure to make eye contact with Caulfield. They locked eyes and James gave a small smile and a nod, His way of saying thanks. Max smiled and also nodded as they walked off to the Ambulance that had arrived on the school grounds.


	8. Chapter 8: Principles Office

**Principles office, Blackwell Academy, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 8th, 2013, 1:15 PM**

James sat beside Max in front of Principle Wells, in the room as well were Security Guard David Madsen and Photography teacher Mark Jefferson, In the room as well as Nathan Prescott.

"Now, I know today was difficult for everybody, but I'm so proud of the way Blackwell pulled together to save a young girl's life. The heroic efforts of Mr. Makintosh and Ms. Caulfield are to be commended" Wells started.

The compliment made James squirm a little in his seat, he never liked being called that

"I didn't really do much of anything, It's Miss. Caulfield you should be labeling the 'hero' " Makintosh tried clarifying

"I didn't do much either" Caulfield shrank in her seat

"Modest, like real heroes" Jefferson piped up

"Yeah. 'Real heroes'" David scoffed which made James rolled his eyes

"As principal of Blackwell Academy, I take my duties seriously. I take the well-being of every student more seriously." Wells started "What happened today should never happen in a hall of wisdom and knowledge. Mr. Madsen, as our head of security here, those roof doors should always be locked. That's just standard operating procedure. They were not. And that is indeed your responsibility. Mr. Jefferson, I know you can't be expected to know what your students are going through, but Kate has assisted you in class, so you should've known something was amiss. Mr. Prescott, since you are responsible for the Vortex Club parties, and since Miss Marsh did attend your last party, you'll have to answer some more questions."

the Principle looked at the two students sitting in front of him "Miss. Caulfield why exactly were you on the roof with Kate Marsh? Did she tell you her plan? Or anything at all?" Wells asked Max,

"H _e's asking her first. Good, allows me time to get my thoughts together_ " James inner voice echoed in his head

"I saw Mr. Jefferson talking to Kate right before our class... Then she ran off crying" she testified.

" _So she was in the hall as well, how coincidental,_ " James thought

"James, did you also see this?" Wells asked

"Yes, I did. All of it" he said nodding in agreement

"Kate... Miss Marsh... has been very withdrawn lately. And I assume this awful video was the cause. I hated seeing the students laugh at her." Jefferson put on that same fake sympathetic tone he had on in the halls. "She told me Max and James were the only ones who seemed to believed her, would take her calls and actually listen to her."

The last statement was true. James had a reputation around the school as some kind of maniac, someone who when seen, everyone would back away from. Usually, he didn't mind it as it left him alone, which is what he wanted to be anyways. But it also made situations like this more difficult, and it always felt good to shed the 'persona' he had crafted and help out people in their hour of need, someone like Kate Marsh.

"She shouldn't have asked to be on a video macking with some dudes" Prescott finally chirped up,

"She didn't ask for that type of harassment. When we want your opinion Prescott we'll ask for it!" James responded angrily

Before Nathan could respond Wells raised a hand to silence him "Mister Makintosh, while I understand your want to defend Miss Marsh after what has happened I must remind you that we are here to come up with a solution to this issue. Not let our emotions get in the way of our better judgment, Mr Presscott, I strongly advice keeping any and all comments to yourself for the moment"

Wells then asked James what he knew about the situation.

"About two days ago Miss Marsh came to me for help, that video was making her life miserable. As we all know" James began "I asked her what had happened during that party. She confided in me that something happened to her during, she had and has no recollection of what happened afterwards. But does vaguely remember being taken to a hospital by Mr. Prescott."

Max had pointed to her sacrificial lamb and now so had James.

"What are you trying to Imply Sherlock? I didn't do anything" Prescott defended himself as James suspected he would

"Nathan, I have more than enough reason to believe you had something to do with Miss Marsh's behavior that night. In fact, I believe you drugged her with something so you could do whatever you wanted. Didn't you?" James accused

"Thats absurd!" Prescott exclaimed

"These are very serious allegations Mr. Makintosh, do you have any proof of this?" Wells asked,

"At this current time I, unfortunately, do not have any concrete evidence to support my claims, I only have what Miss Marsh had told me when I talked to her. But I know that is what happened, And when I get my proof I'll bring it right to you" James' shoulders slumped, he was so close to catching Nathan and yet was too far away.

"Then I'm afraid Mister Makintosh I have to throw these allegations away" Wells sighed "Please do be more careful when saying such outlandish things. It may harm your standing within this school"

Nathan sat back in his seat and gave James a devilish grin "Yeah James, 'do be more careful' don't want to get in any more trouble now do you?" Nathan and James locked eyes one more time while James glared

" _You'll get yours soon enough you bastard, just you wait_ " he thought to himself.

Jefferson and Wells went back and forth for a little while but it ultimately ended with Jefferson being kicked off of the 'Everyday Heroes' Photography Contest. This was perfectly fine to James as one. He didn't care about this contest or photography in general, and two. It wasn't like Mark Jefferson going to San Francisco would impact his life at all.

The Meeting was basically over, all that was left was for James and Max to sign a legal document regarding their testimonies. With that, the meeting was finally over.

"Well, I think we know less now than when we started. We'll be assisting the police with further inquiries. I know this has been a stressful day... I wish I had the power to change it all for the better... So, thank you all for coming in." Principle Wells said before everyone left the office, leaving him alone to deal with the events of today.


	9. Chapter 9: Eclipse

**Blackwell Academy. Prescott Dormitory-Boys Wing, Arcadia Bay Oregon, October 8th, 2013, 2:27 PM**

James walked up the steps to the second floor of the Dormitory on Campus, as he walked down the hall he checked the whiteboards by the doors to each dorm room. Most hadn't changed but others were in support of Kate Marsh. He finally got all the way down the hall and looked at his board " **Alex Hillsef, James Makintosh: Private Investigator** " he sighed and pushed open the door

He walked in and looked around, the sun cast the room in a deep orange glow. James sat on the edge of his bed and sighed, he only looked up when he heard the door open in front of him only to find his roommate Alex walking through. Hillsef threw his backpack onto the floor and stopped. Alex was studying his roommate's body language and noticed something must have been wrong

"Something the matter with you Sherlock?" he asked, James looked up at him with an annoyed expression

"Alex. A girl just tried to throw herself off of a roof today while hundreds watched. Today has not been great" he said with a certain coldness in his voice. His features softened as he took a deep breath "It has been a very long day" he said after exhaling. For James it certainly _was_ a very long day indeed, and his mind was in a whirlwind of thoughts.

"Hey man, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have watched that video, maybe you're right and she was drugged or something. But. Christ, I didn't think she'd try to splatter herself against the ground over it!" Alex shook his head

"Yeah well, thats what being in a video like that does to people like her. You think the assholes here made her life hell? Imagine what the zealots in that damn church must be thinking!" James said vividly thinking of Witches burning at the stake

"I guess. Still, she's alive thanks to that girl Warren is always talking about. And you. You're a good man James Makintosh" Alex said with a smile "It's a good thing that girl has friends like you, otherwise she might have just ended up as the next Rachel Amber"

Then an idea popped into his head, he shot up from the bed with a look of clarity on his face

"Oh shit. The light-bulb has gone off in your head hasn't it?" Alex asked. James started pacing while both rambling to himself and his roommate

"Kate Marsh's case is somehow related to Rachel Amber's disappearance. I don't know how or Why but I know." he muttered "Prescott, Madsen, and god knows who else are certainly involved, this is a much larger conspiracy at work here." he spoke out loud yet also under his breath

"Uh, Sherlock you're talking crazy here" Alex took a step back from his pacing roommate.

James stopped in his tracks for a second and walked over to his desk. As James sat down on the chair in front of the small desk he pulled out a pen and a notebook, the book being full of notes and such, he opened up to a blank page and started furiously jotting down notes on the page.

He was so enraptured in his notes that he didn't notice the moon passing over the sun creating an eclipse.

Alex looked at the event happening outside with a look of shock "Uh, Sherlock. you might want to look out your window." He said only to have James shush him an raise his hand up

"No, seriously James you need to see this" Alex said a lot more direct

"Alex, please for the love of god shut up right now while I am working" James waved him off so he could concentrate, still focused on the notebook.

Finally, Alex had enough "James!" He yelled out trying one last to catch his roommate's attention

"What?!" James asked frustrated with Alex interrupting him in the middle of his epiphany finally looked up from the notepad

"Look out the window you son of a bitch!" Alex pointed at the window in front of him

"What in the fuck?!" James exclaimed as he looked out of the window "Mainland United States isn't supposed to see another solar eclipse until sometime in 2017!" James was more than concerned.

First, it was snow, then it was animals. Particularly birds dropping dead on the ground all throughout town, now an eclipse not predicted by N.A.S.A or any other scientific group out there.

And then there was _her,_ someone who managed to predict things before they happened almost down to the second, then there was her ability to be somewhere where she shouldn't have been able to get to. How she managed to get through the crowd, past Madsen, and up to the roof, all before Marsh could throw herself from it was simply, Unnatural.

James then had another new thought and idea to enter his mind. What if _she_ was related to everything happening within Arcadia Bay. James had to know the truth _._ From now on he would be keeping a _very_ close eye on _her._

 ** _END OF EPISODE 2_**


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